Guardian
by Sounddrive
Summary: Finale to the Silver Wings Trilogy. They found her six months after she had disappeared, traumatized. Since then, she's taken it to be her responsibly to the remaining younglings. Prime recruits another human come to help her. However as time passes, it's evident that she's hiding something; things regarding the time she was missing. DISCONTINUED. If want to adopt, PM me.
1. The New Aide

**A/N: A huge thank you to RintinDestiny for becoming my beta-reader. You rock~!**

* * *

'_Aaron Steele did not make a great first impression' _Optimus thought with amusement as he looked down at the human youth. It had been five years after the Battle of Chicago and his small team of Autobots, and what was left of the disbanded NEST Team. The meeting was with Charlotte Mearing, and a few other humans, about an ongoing situation with rogue Decepticons.

It had been a warm, summer day, one where the humans were sweating beads and the cooling fans of the Autobots were working at an all time high. The robots assembled consisted of Optimus Prime of course, Mirage, Sideswipe, Ratchet, Bumblebee, and the two younglings. But not every member of the Autobot crew was actually listening.

The two younglings, Shimmer and Dark Blaze, were trying to keep cool in recharge. This was more difficult due to the fact that they had grown quite a bit. Shimmer was now as tall as a light post and Blaze was only about a helm and a half shorter than Prime himself. Both were near the time of being able to obtain a vehicle mode, it seemed odd though that they had almost fully matured since they had grown much quicker than expected.

The rendezvous was at Lennox's home in the country side, a place the Autobots knew very well. The old barn was where the late weapons specialist resided when he was the guardian to the Lennox's and each of the bots looked at it with sadness. The abode to the family of three was getting old, but that didn't stop Sarah Lennox to try to fix it up when needed.

A high stack of cardboard and wooden boxes were piled near the meeting, where Shimmer and Dark Blaze were currently dozing; making the most of what little shade there was.

The group was in the middle of their talk when a wayward Chevy truck came out of nowhere and nearly mowed down the humans; Lennox, Epps, Director Mearing, and Crazy Eddie. All of whom jumped to side with yells of surprise.

Sideswipe reacted quickly and sped ahead of the ornery automobile in vehicle mode. In a matter of seconds, he Transformed mid-air and sliced the car in half with one of his arm blades, much in the same manner that he had dispatched Sideways. But to the surprise of everyone a human was able to scramble out of the now totaled car and fell to the ground.

"Dang it Aaron!" Mearing exclaimed the instant the young man tried to run in the other direction, but was stopped by the towering figure of Sideswipe

The young man-he seemed to be in his late teens to early twenties; he had messy, dirty blond hair, bright, wide eyes and wore gloves over his hands, a pair for when humans would usually ride a motorcycle. The kid was taller than Mearing by a few inches, but when he recoiled from her yelling…he seems to be a lot smaller. It was slightly pathetic.

"What the Hell are you thinking, following me all the way out here?" she demanded as she stormed up to him, "and why did you just try to flatten us?"

"Aunt Charlotte," the young man, Aaron, mumbled softly. "I kinda got lost and . . ."

"LOST!" the ex-liaison snapped at him but then sighed, "Aaron," she muttered incredulously, taking off her glasses for a moment, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"You wouldn't be able to find your own home without a GPS!"

"Look, I was just going to crash at a friend's house when I took a wrong turn!" Aaron retorted.

He seemed to finally realize that the Autobots were all staring at the spectacle unfolding before them and he looked down, amazed but embarrassed at the same time. His aunt had told him of the Cybertronians but he had never truly met them face to face-plate.

"Uh, I'll be over there . . ." he muttered and pointed a little ways away from the crowd and then started to hide behind a tool shed.

"Director Mearing," Optimus finally spoke, getting the woman's attention "I wasn't aware that one of your own family members..."

"Aaron's my late sister's son." Charlotte explained warily, surprising the Prime on how vulnerable and tired she sounded.

"Even if it's been two years, he's . . . still trying to get back on his feet and has been living at my place for awhile."

"I didn't even know he was following us . . ." Shimmer murmurs sleepily, coming out from behind her recharge spot, rubbing her optics and blinking several times in an attempt to wake herself up.

"Yes even when he doesn't know what he's doing, he can do it quite well." Mearing said with a sad smirk.

"Eh, he'll probably just leave us alone . . ." Mirage said quietly, hoping to get back to their meeting.

However, to everyone's surprise, Optimus decided to invite Aaron to stay with them for the time being and proposed an idea, with Director Mearing's permission. What is the young man was to join and help them?

The reason: the few sparklings that remained . . . Even with Shimmer's partner, Jenny, taking care of the ones she rescued years ago, not many had made it past their first year, due to lack of energon. Then there was the issue of the few murders committed by rogue Cybertronians, which no one human or Autobot wanted to even think about.

The idea was that Aaron was to be transported by Shimmer and Bumblebee to a small, manmade island that housed the younglings. There he could help take care of the younglings while exposing them to human contact. And at the same time he himself would be able to be cared for and not get into any trouble. At first this was met with limited responses and Optimus knew why. A human taking care of Cybertronian sparklings would be interesting to say the least.

Nonetheless, everyone knew that there was just one other factor that may get in the way of Aaron joining in with the Caretaker's position. It was one thing that Optimus couldn't interfere with due to a signed agreement. The Head Aide Jennifer Chen (A.K.A Jenny) herself would have to test Aaron.

Jenny's story was an interesting one. While out on a patrol in the Florida Everglades, Mirage had found her; six and a half months after she had been reported missing. Truth to be told, Jenny only told Prime and Ratchet of what happened to her in full detail. She was in a serious state of shock, and no one was allowed to press her for information after confiding to the Autobot leader and the CMO. And even they refused to reveal what she had told them.

The first two years of staying with the Autobots permanently and being partnered with Shimmer, the girl had remained silent. Eventually, she began to speak a few words here and there; barely above a whisper though. Nowadays, the eighteen year old hardly spoke to anyone for a long while. The exceptions were the sparkling-turned-younglings and to Shimmer, her original charge.

At the moment Jenny was inside the house helping Sarah Lennox and everyone looked cautiously at the white building. Wondering if she could hear them.

"Well if he's willing to take that chance. I say let him do it." Mearing finally said.

"It'll give me a much needed break."

And after some more discussion the rest of the Autobots finally agreed.

* * *

The day finally came when Aaron was brought to the remote island and introduced to Jenny. She peered at the youth closely as he stood awkwardly, waiting, staring down at the floor. Finally she motioned for him to follow her and, with a nudge from his aunt, did so. He was brought to a small room with a single chair and desk. From there Jenny set a piece of paper in front of him that she had written herself. It was a test that he _had _to pass.

Surprisingly though he did, thanks to some coaching from Mearing and the Autobots beforehand. But Jenny wasn't quite finished with him. The actual trial was for him to take care of one of the most rambunctious of the surviving hatchlings; that being Apex, for one whole week. The poor kid barely survived with a sprained wrist and cracked ribs from Apex's roughhousing demeanor, and other mishaps, but he still passed nonetheless.

"The last person quit the minute I mentioned the little guy." the Head Aide said quietly to Aaron as she was bandaging up his wrist.

He had been pleased that he had done so well and passed where others had failed. It felt like years since he had finally been good at something. With a tight pull the bandages were tightened around his wrist and he looked down at it. Two of the younglings had collided with him and the unlucky appendage had been caught in-between.

"I'm sorry if I come off as detached at times . . . you wouldn't understand what happened to me . . ." Jenny said as she stood up and turned.

"Don't be sorry! What you did . . . you did it to protect the little ones; _that's_ dedication." Aaron interjected suddenly, making Jenny nearly drop her roll of white bindings.

Immediately he regretted saying that though, his Aunt had revealed little of what had happened to Jenny but what she had told him was rough to say the least.

The guy gave a nervous smile; slightly afraid she'd up and walk away, for she was known to do that. Surprisingly though, a rare smile spread across the aide's face, brightening her demeanor greatly. And Aaron returned the big smile.

From afar, Shimmer and Bumblebee were watching from one of the corridors, highly amused by the turn of events. They had been rooting for Aaron to succeed and their hopes had been granted. But Shimmer had been rooting for Aaron to succeed for more than one reason; Jenny needed a human friend since she couldn't be there with her all the time.

'_This time Jenny,'_ the new scout-in-training vowed to herself silently. '_I'm the one lookin' out fer yer back!'_


	2. Preparation

"So, he's gonna stay here?"

"Oh goodness . . ."

"Are you kidding us Jenny, after what happened last time with a male aide around?"

"Um . . . is that a good idea?"

"HAS PRIME CRACKED A PROCESSOR? This is outrageous-"

"He's related to Mearing too . . ." Jenny tried to interject but was drowned out by the waves of questions and comments.

"Guys, guys, jus' calm down. I got to know the guy, he's great-"

"WILL YOU ALL JUST CLAMP IT?" shouted the smallest of the group of eight small bots that had surrounded Jenny.

She grabbed the sides of her helm as if the excess sound was attacking her.

"I can't even hear myself think with all of ya yakking! An' besides, we gotta respect Jenny's decisions!" the small bot said and removed her servos from her helm.

The others grumble amongst themselves, wondering if it was such a good idea. The eight younglings that inhabited the island were all crowded just outside the kitchen of their base. In the said kitchen, Jenny was busy packing little baggies full of powdered energon_-thanks to the late Wheeljack's old sketches of his successful experiments-_for the little ones. They were to go on an outing with her to go and meet up with Aaron, who was going to be arriving from the main land after gathering his belongings soon.

The kitchen was pretty large to accommodate the nine of them; the Head Aide herself, Éclair, Apex, Buddy, Tickety-Tock (Tick or Tickety for short), Clove, Bandit, Cirrus and Lurker. There was a small stove and microwave on the granite counter top for Jenny to use. A huge three door refrigerator that occupied one corner held energon samples in the bottom portion of it and human food in the top two portions.

Upon the doors of the refrigerator were several amounts of crayon drawings, servo paintings, magnets with playful cartoons, stickers of the adult Autobots, and several pictures of the inhabitants of the abode. Most were from the younglings to their beloved caretaker.

To the right of the fridge were cabinets that held all the Tupperware, dishes, plates, cups and utensils. And finally in the middle of the room was a circle table to where they'd all sit during breakfast and 'dinner'.

"Thank you Tickety," Jenny managed to breathe as she finally measured out the last of the energon powder in an industrial sized plastic baggie.

_'I'll add the water when we get to the park, I just hope they'll behave themselves for two hours . . .'_ she thought to herself quietly.

Quickly heading over to the cupboard, she opens up the doors to find an unused toaster that she used as a mirror. She whipped it out upon seeing it and checked her reflection.

The left portion of the young woman's face was comprised of a mesh of Cybertronian alloy and earth metal. A side effect from her . . . 'accident' all those years ago. She blinked several times to check that her blinking mechanism in her optic was working. Satisfied, she then looked down to her legs, with a small frown. Her right leg was also mainly comprised of metal and was once an inch longer than her other, normal human leg. Ratchet had fixed that little problem two years ago luckily. Her left arm was also plated with metal, but it just went from her shoulder to just above the forearm.

A wolf whistle emanated from one of the male younglings, causing the others to crack up into bouts if giggles.

"Who you trying to impress Jen-Jen?" Bandit asked as the other seven dashed off into their rooms to find their toys to bring along onto the picnic, sniggering the whole way.

Jenny snorted and rolled her eyes in reply as she took a look at the oldest of the bunch. He was derived from Praxian ancestry, for elegant door-wings that sprouted from his back were lightly swaying about, amused. Having a height of about five feet and eleven inches, he was a bit intimidating to strangers. But, Bandit was a sweetheart nevertheless. Complete in a blue-camouflage color scheme, his chassis was comprised of being bright shades of blue in some parts of him and darker in others. His aqua blue eyes were vibrant with friendliness and a tinge of worry as well.

"Hey, I want to look okay for when our guests arrive," Jenny murmured tiredly and was glad when Bandit came into the kitchen to help stuff the food into two separate baskets.

A wicker basket was set aside for the humans as an enormous lunch bag was solely for the powdered and liquid energon.

"So, in what way then?" Bandit asks nonchalantly, looking up at the clock above the stove.

It read 1:45 P.M., and that gave them an hour before they had to head towards the dock and then met up with the new aide.

"Well, I want to assure Mearing that her nephew will be safe on the island," Jenny murmured, brushing aside a stray hair on her forehead.

She exhaled tiredly, collapsing into a chair that was just behind the ridiculously large round table.

"I mean, she may be a bit strict at times, but you have to admit, she's good at her job."

_'Yeah, but I only knew her a bit before NEST got disbanded',_ Bandit thought dryly.

"You need to take a nap Jen-Jen," Bandit murmured softly, gravely concerned for his guardian.

He could see the onset of dark circles under her eyes. Being the sole Aide for the younglings was starting to take its toll on her, and she was still in school to boot! The femme was practically running herself ragged for Primus sake.

Unknown to some, there was a population of humans just a mile or so from where the large group lived. A small population of about a two hundred or so people lived on the lower levels of the island, closer to the shore. Luckily for the weary teen, school wouldn't start up again until September, but it was now late June, and the poor girl was barely recovering from finals.

"I'll do that after we finish this shindig and get Aaron settled into his quarters," Jenny sighed wearily, putting on a brave face.

Before Bandit could reply however, a miniature stampede of sixteen legs (Lurker went on all fours usually), tramped into the kitchen. Bandit got out of the way just in time as the group of younglings returned. Lurker was the first to the kitchen and quickly reverted onto his two legs and then sauntered up to Jenny, much to everyone's amusement.

Lurker was somewhat bigger than Bandit, being a six footer on the mark. His angled, blood red eyes could chill anyone's bones, especially with a yard-long tail whipping behind him. No one knew what to make of him when he first hatched out of an egg-like pod that Jenny rescued long ago, but his body was able to alternate between one of a quadruped and a biped. His frame reflecting that of a feline's.

From his elbows swooped up a needle-sharp spike, one per elbow. Jenny at first assumed that he had been a mutant of sorts, but Ratchet managed to conclude that he was somewhat of an odd-ball clone of Hatchet, the Decepticon that Mirage dispatched a bit before the Battle of Chicago. He was rough around the edges, but Lurker would be a loyal friend to the end if one got the chance.

"We got the kite Jenny," Lurker said in his deep voice and proudly held up the kite he had made for the occasion.

It was a box kite; all of it being a solid black, except for one of the squares containing the Autobot symbol. He also held up the kite string, eager to set it flying.

"Hey 'bots, let's let Jen take a half hour nap before we head down to shore," Bandit suggested clearly, getting nods from everyone in the room.

He took a gander at the said human, who was already starting to nod off. "We'll just be outside, 'kay?" he added softly, asking for her permission as well. The caretaker nodded before the miniature stampede started up again, and Bandit had to nudge the teen up to head to her own room.

Whether she liked it or not, she needed to rest.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for such the long wait . . . it's my fault that my darn muse wouldn't pop in at the right moment. But now, at least it's updated!**

**Credit for beta-reading Guardian is RintinDestiny. Thank you and please R&R (reviews/comments help an author a lot, believe me!)**


	3. Alarms

"Let's go!" Apex couldn't help but holler joyfully as he burst out of the door.

Trailing behind him were the other younglings and the human Head Aide, walking a bit slower than their large friend.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jenny exclaimed loudly.

This made the lumbering mechling slow his quick pace a bit, letting the others catch up to him.

"Look 'Pex, I know you want to meet Aaron up and personal again, but for the sake of his poor wrist . . ."

"I know, I know," the playful mech mumbled sheepishly, his gaze turning towards the grass beneath his pedes.

He still felt slightly guilty about hurting the human, and he lightly kicked at one tuft of the green vegetation, sending it near-flying into Jenny's face.

"Alright, alright," Jenny couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

She turned to the others all lined up behind her like ducks, waiting patiently.

"Bandit, Éclair and Lurk, you guys head over to the park and set up, 'kay?" The three elder younglings do a quick salute before bouncing off, carrying their needed supplies.

Now, that left Apex, Buddy, Tickety, Clove and Cirrus with a still slightly sleepy human.

"Okay kids; let's hop to it!" A mix of cheers and groans of annoyance emanated into the air as the odd group marches down to the docks.

* * *

_Just a few meters away from the docks . . ._

Aaron sneezed loudly; his hand dived into his pocket for a tissue and he quietly blew his nose. Goodness he hated his allergies!

"Easy kiddo; you okay?" his aunt murmured, somewhat concerned with his health.

Heck, he may have been in gymnastics when he was a kid-_well, he still was technically_-and all that, but the allergy habits that he inherited from his father_-'Rest his soul in hell', Mearing thought quickly-_weren't coming in at the best of times.

A light fog had come over the harbor. Currently the pair was clomping up a flight of stairs to head to ground level. As far as the ex-liaison could see, to the left portion of the parking lot had some cars, a few trucks, and there was that one huge truck with a small yacht. These belonged to the people inhabiting the island. Mearing still disapproved of so many people knowing about the young Cybertronians, but nothing could be done about it now.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Aaron coughed as he shook his head.

He had managed to don on a dark green hoodie with black slacks and his dingy gray Nike sneakers. Under his hoodie was actually a polo shirt with a tie; he felt ridiculous now thinking on it. After a few more seconds, they were finally on concrete.

Suddenly, the ground under Aaron's feet began to have a beat to it, and he knew that pace of step like the back of his hand. Heck, he spent a week taking care of that one youngling.

"Hi . . . hi Aaron!" Apex burst out of the mist, near-tackling the new aide. Aaron immediately tensed up in habit, but then a loud 'FWEET' of a familiar whistle made the roughhousing mechling make a gigantic brake to his quick pace.

"Apex! Slow down kiddo," shouted Aaron's new 'boss', coming out of the mist as well.

She had on a black jacket and she also had a silver pair of jeans. Behind her, or as far as the new recruit could tell, were a few of the other little ones. Aaron did a head count and noticed that a few were missing.

"Hey, aren't there supposed to be eight of them?" Aaron asked the Head Aide.

"Yeah, the elder ones are at the park, setting things up," Jenny stated formally.

"Hi again Charlotte!" she greeted the liaison warmly.

"Hello; let's get to it then," Mearing chuckled as Jenny turned around to lead the odd group to the park.

Noticing that his new supervisor wasn't one to talk, Aaron began to take in on what the youngling's looked like.

Two femmes stood side by side and were keeping pace just behind Jenny. The one on the left was pretty slender, and held herself up daintily. Her helm was held high and looked on straight ahead, not paying attention to some of the people who looked at them uneasily from the harbor.

On her back were the closest things to what resembled dragonfly-like wings on her back, which fluttered every once in awhile. Her pedes were shaped like miniature heels, no more than half an inch high, even for her five foot eleven_-or as Aaron estimated-_height. Around her ankles were black bands that were like straps, keeping the 'heels' on the femme. The youngling's chassis was mainly of a white color scheme. Patterned on her back were what seemed to be Alice-Blue crystalline-shapes, dotting a good portion of her back.

Next to her was a slightly shorter and chubbier femme. She had her helm down and was fiddling with something in her servos. Aaron craned his neck to the side just enough to see that she was braiding some threads together into a bracelet of sorts. She murmured in chirps and clicks in a low voice to her fairy-like companion as they walked. Aaron was somewhat surprised to see the femme limping a bit, and he finally notices some metallic bandages around her ankle.

_'Must've twisted it or something',_ Aaron thought to himself.

"So," a voice said behind him, making him jolt.

Aaron whipped around to see one of the chubbiest Cybertronians he ever saw. He immediately recognized Buddy, for he was one of the younglings that collided into him and banged up his wrist. The round youngling had more chassis than he did have a helm, and he had a very small neck as well. The mech has a friendly expression donned today, and he was practically waddling behind Aaron. This stout Cybertronian was only up to his shoulder, and had a bit of an under bite problem, but that didn't stop the little guy from smiling.

"How's it been with you Aaron?"

"Okay, considering that my new boss is taking me and my aunt out for a picnic," Aaron replied earnestly.

Sitting on his shoulders was a very frail looking femme, who seemed to be in recharge at the moment. Aaron couldn't help but grimace as he remembered what his aunt said about this one particular little one. Tickety-Tock, and she was Buddy's younger sibling. There is a black band where Tickety's optics should've been, but there were none, as far as Aaron knew. Tickety's protoform made her blind, for the apparent reason that her Creators, whoever they were, didn't have the supplies or tools in order to create viz-scanners. And also due to the fact that her armor plating was so thin that it could easily be bent by anything or anyone. If she was standing, Jenny had measured the femme out to be only a little over four feet tall.

"I can hear ya staring at me," Tickety murmured quietly, her voice was high and reedy.

Before Aaron could say anything however, a loud blaring alarm is sounded, and everyone that was on the street rushed about to take cover. Almost in an instant, the younglings in front and behind him started to run back. Their expressions were practically identical; _fear._

"Damn it," Jenny muttered and helped Tickety stay on Buddy's shoulders; hustling them back to her home.

"Wha-what's happening?" Aaron shouts above the din, chasing after the teen and his aunt.

It would've been comical seeing his aunt run in heels, but the look on her face said that this wasn't a time for jokes.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Buddy choked, running as fast as his short legs could take him.

"Get into the bunkers with the others!" Jenny shouted as Buddy races on a head.

The aide then reached for a hidden walkie-talkie from one of her pockets. She yelled into it, "BANDIT! Get Éclair and Lurk outta there!"

"-Loud and clear Jen!-" was a quick reply before static is heard.

"What do you think Aaron?" Jenny murmured, finally answering the young man's question.

To Aaron's shock, they were finally reaching the front of a house. Aaron realized that it was where Jenny lived, seeing how the outside seemed of huge proportions.

"Decepticons?" Aaron squeaked, shock crossing his face.

"Yep, and from the alarm, I sure hope Prime and the other Bots get here quickly," Jenny gulped as they entered the house and bank a right through the kitchen. She tapped a wall that was beside the fridge. Immediately, one of the younglings-_it was the chubby femme Aaron realized-_that opened the well hidden door and whisked them inside.

"Get downstairs Clove," Jenny whispered, and Clove then stomped around for a bit before her pedes make contact to a loose board.

From below, another silver hand shoots up to remove a few of the panels. It was Buddy, and he was on a steel ladder that led deep down to a dark hole. The new recruit had to estimate that it went down for quite awhile . . .

"Ladies first," Jenny motions to Mearing once Buddy and Clove were a little more than seven yards down the ladder.

Aaron was next, and as he swallowed nervously, he descended down to the dark depths.


	4. A New Ally?

**A/N: SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! Writers block struck me for a bit, and thanks to RintinDestiny's beta-reading, this chapter is ready to go! Again, thanks for the wait; things have been hectic as of late.**

* * *

Aaron dropped down to the bottom of the deep hole, and he was shocked that he couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face. The only light in the room emanated from the younglings' optics. Several pairs of red and blue were looking about. From next to him, he could hear one of the Cybertronians move to one side of a wall and flick on a very old light switch that was hidden from view. Aaron hissed a bit in pain as he eyes adjust to the sudden onslaught of brightness.

Once his eyes adjusted themselves, he took a gander around. The bunker was enormous, and lining the two walls that were on his left and right were of five, tall and wide tri bunk beds. Some were comprised of metal, others of wood. Some were of different designs than its neighboring frames. For example, the one on his right has a small, wooden bunk that stuck out from the frame, which was obviously a pull-out one. To the left and right of it led two ladders; the left to the second tier as the right was taller and led to the top bunk.

Straight across from him were two little bed frames with dinky mattresses, settled upon metal springs. Under those two 'beds' were about a dozen sleeping bags, all in an assortment of colors.

The walls were literally made up of rock, and Aaron absently wondered how long it took for anyone to create this room.

"Hey, where's Jenny?" Aaron asked the others whilst twisting around, trying to find his supervisor.

"Ground level most likely," Buddy stated plainly.

He waddled over to Tickety, who was curled up in a corner; she shook like a leaf in the wind from dread. The elder of the two picked up his sister and shuffled over to one of the bunks. Taking care that his sister's helm didn't hit the upper slat, Buddy places his shaking sibling into the middle level.

"Wait what?" Aaron exclaimed, making every Cybertronian in the room look at him with a mix of annoyance and irritation. "W-with the Decepticons out there-"

"She knows how to handle herself," the fairy-like Cybertronian stepped up, her wings flicking about in muted fury.

"Cirrus, quit it," steps up one of the mechs of the group. He donned blue camouflage style paint upon his chassis. The mech held up his servos as if to try to calm down the temperamental femme.

"But Bandit-"

"Jenny survived several attacks and even fought in a few too some years ago," Bandit interjected, directing it towards Aaron. He then shot a glare at Cirrus, whose wings were raised up in defiance.

"You know he didn't know that!" Bandit snapped at the femme. His own door-wings swung up into a sharp 'V'.

"Yeah? Well . . ." Cirrus responded, struggling to come up with a retort. Bandit quirked an optic ridge, making Cirrus yield her oncoming rant.

"So . . . what's the deal with the tri-decks?" Aaron inquired as he pointed to the plentiful amount of bunks.

"There are only eight of you, right?" Lurker, Cirrus, Bandit and Apex immediately went rigid as a small gasp is heard from the others.

His aunt immediately yanked him over to the side, her face stern.

"Aaron, you do know that there were once about thirty or so of them, right?" Mearing chastised in a hushed tone. "I explained it to you before, remember?"

Aaron wanted the ground to swallow him up right then and there. He had heard of the numerous deaths of the other younglings, and it hadn't clicked right away. Not until he noticed the numerous, murderous glares sent his way from the biped/quadruped one.

"I am such an idiot," Aaron murmured to himself angrily, smacking his forehead with his palm as a form of punishment.

* * *

_Top-side . . ._

Jenny was on the first floor of her home. In her room, she grabbed several weapons hidden in the few locked cabinets; a precaution so that the younglings couldn't lay a hand on them. Those set of weapons (made up of flash bangs and smoke grenades mainly) could be harmful to the younglings.

She completely changed her clothes to have some more tight-fitting apparel, making it easier for her to run if it needed be. Her top was actually a slate gray leotard was badly cut down which went to her waist. Her pants were of cycling shorts she used every day while biking around the island around six A.M. to avoid the locals and a tourist or two.

The familiar _vroom _and the screech of tires of a vehicle pulled outside, and Jenny didn't need to look in order to know that it's Shimmer. She stuffed the last of the grenades into her black knapsack and then hustled silently down the stairs, lying low.

Jenny then ran to the vehicle mode of her first and eldest charge, Shimmer. The femme had a sense of flair ever since Jenny first met her in a small warehouse while she was on the run. Hence her name.

Two years ago, Jenny had recognized the BMW i8 the femme had been practically mooning over when she saw some magazines in the Head Aide's underground basement, declaring that was the vehicle mode she was going to get.

"You sure about that Shimmer?" Jenny remembered asking the femme as the little one was practically drooling over the snapshots of the vehicle mode a couple of weeks ago.

The femme responded vehemently, and Jenny and the little younglings were somehow locked out of her own house for about two hours until Prime had to convince Shimmer to unlock the front door.

Two weeks ago, Dark Blaze's T-Cog activated and he practically bragged about it until Shimmer had landed him in the med-bay. That in turn earned a wrench to the helm. It was only about a week ago did Shimmer's T-Cog finally started up, and she was overly eager to get that one car model.

"So, what do we have Shimmy?" Jenny asked, quickly strapping herself into the seat-belt. Immediately after, the femme puts metal to the pedal and zoomed out of sight of the huge building.

"There's a 'Con spotted just outside the docks, and he don't look too happy, but he isn't attacking any one . . . yet," Shimmer responded through the speakers within her vehicle mode.

"ETA on Prime and the others?"

"Two minutes," the scout-in-training replied curtly.

"Darn," Jenny muttered.

She knew full well how the 'Cons could react. Then, two nagging questions Jenny had long kept to herself came to the surface once again.

The first was of how Shimmer, Dark Blaze, and the younglings she took care of grew up/aged so quickly. The Shimmer and Blaze couldn't be a mere several hundreds of years old; they'd still be babies by Cybertronian standards_-and her torturous time with the 'Cons all those years ago revealed that fact-_and Jenny knew the pair of them kept a lot of secrets of their pasts to themselves.

Dark Blaze especially; even more so with when her father had undoubtedly handed Daniel, her elder brother, Jenny, and her twin sister, Cecilia, to a laboratory that placed silver wings in her own, and bat-like wings in Cecilia, and metal feathers to sprout out from her brother's arms. From the after effects of the Battle of Chicago, the Autobots had been tracking down possible human dealers that associated themselves with the Decepticons.

One included her own father with those so called 'scientists', who were all in jail now.

The second question; the silent uncertainty, sent chills down her spine as goose bumps showed up on her arms. From the street that Shimmer was speeding on, she could make out the Decepticon wading about in the harbor, poking at the boats and other water vessels with muted curiosity.

_"Welcome to the Ring human,"_ the deep voice rang at the back of her thoughts. The little metal wings jutting from her head flatten against her cranium with a loud _CLACK,_ resembling the sound of Venetian blinds being closed.

"Jenny?" asked the BMW i8, concerned. She voiced herself again, and no response. Apparently, her former guardian didn't hear her.

Twitching one of her side mirrors to take a view of the human, Shimmer is alarmed by how pale and petrified her companion looked, especially with her helm wings flat against her head.

_I'm scared, don't let it be, _were the silent messages from the helm wings.

* * *

_The harbor . . ._

Shimmer made the amateur mistake of letting her guard down, and the Decepticon in the water knew it.

He was a Decepticon that was only in his thin silver and black armor with no weapons; non-combat. He knew within the femme scout was the small human that he knew very well. His whole chassis was muscular by Cybertronian standards, but he was no taller than the Autobot's CMO.

He could only smirk once the femme transformed, and she wasn't looking at him, but rather behind him.

Saber-Eye twisted his helm around to notice the cavalry arriving, with Optimus wading toward in as the rest of his team followed diligently behind.

"You're late!" the medic shouted, making the others pause in their advancement.

He looked up on the upper level of the island, where Jenny was standing there; slack jawed.

Shimmer grabbed a small rifle from her subspace and started to clamor down the island's somewhat steep side. She looked downright furious, much to his amusement.

"I come under a flag of truce," the 'Con again voiced, raising his servos up.

His emerald optics then ventured back up to Jenny's spot, waiting for the female's reaction. Then, Jenny had her arms crossed over her chest. Astonishment, disbelief and oddly enough, delight was communicated from the human's entire body.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Jenny shouted as she ran down the rickety steps towards the harbor.

She waved her arms about desperately as she adds, "He's friendly!"

"Have ya lost yer mind?" Shimmer snapped at her guardian.

On the flipside however, she was somewhat horrified. She knew Dark Blaze was half Autobot, half Decepticon, and was her friend. But the reason he was partly Autobot made the scout trust him.

However, with the silver and black Decepticon, Shimmer's old hatred of the Decepticons resurfaced. _What did they do to her guardian?_

_'Did they brainwash her?'_ the thought crossed Shimmer's processor, making her snarl.

"How is he a friendly?" Sideswipe caterwauled from his spot next to Prime. Everyone but Jenny and the 'Con was stiff as boards.

From the docks, the human was practically dancing toward the Decepticon as he waded closer to her. Instinctively, Shimmer cocked her rifle and looked though the scope. It was aimed straight at the 'Cons helm, between his emerald optics.

_One shot, one kill._

"Stand down," Optimus ordered. The assembled Cybertronians, but Ratchet, stared at him in shock as he voiced his command once again.

"He's the one that kept me alive all those years ago!" Jenny breathed excitedly, finally making it towards the mech's outstretched servo and patting it.

"His name's Saber-Eye, a medic."

At that, Shimmer then aimed her rifle at the Decepticon, only to earn a stern and wary look from the Prime.

This was going to be weird . . .


	5. Backlash

**A/N: HOLY MACKEREL! I'm so sorry you guys, life has been insane for me as of late, including my muse being rather . . . well in short, she mutinied on me. **

**Also for warning, this is hasn't been read by my beta-reader, who's pretty much swamped like every kid across the USA . . . yeah.**

**Please read and review!**

* * *

That night, just about every concerned parent on the island was up and at City Hall. Every one of them demanded to see/talk, but more like berate, the so called 'human caretaker' of the few younglings on the island. Security guards can barely hold back the mob as the crowd surges forward every few minutes. Each of their voices all ring louder and louder by the minute.

"Well why can't we just talk to her?" a furious father barked at one of the police.

"This is an outrage! It's not just those little aliens she has to take care of; what about our own children?!" a sobbing mother shrieked. The mother was having trouble as she balanced two babies in her arms. Both of the babes wailed, adding to the cacophony of livid and heated noise in front of the city hall.

"Oh my Primus," Buddy murmured helplessly. He has been watching the incensed horde of the islanders grow bigger and bigger by the hour.

Every one of the little Cybertronians were held in a large room. Within the structure's sturdy edifice, just above the meeting room, that very space was created just in case a situation like this happened. Buddy, Clove, Cirrus and Bandit took to the only window, nervously watching the islanders with their barely reigned in vehemence.

The room was completely white, except for the mahogany door. From the ceiling to the walls, carpet and furniture, it was just an entire sea of the pasty shade. From the entrance that was directly across from the window, the rest of the younglings were scattered about the room.

Éclair sat on a round ottoman, fiddling a with a Celtic knot necklace. The symbol meant friendship, and she had it ever since as long as she could remember. After all, Jenny gave it to her.

The femme had the exact coloration of a typical éclair, hence her name. Mostly, Éclair's derma-plating was a chamois color The steel plate protecting her stomach area was a cream colored thing. Several marks streak about her frame, a heavy ebony upon the russet. They could've been considered patterns on her. On her back, the black marks on her back form a somewhat sloppy sun. The middle was a perfect circle, but the five rays that extended out from it are squiggled.

"Hey Éclair," Tickety called from her corner of the room. The elder femme twisted around to see the youngest of her brethren, sitting on an ottoman.

"Yeah?"

"Do, do you think that they'll hurt Jenny?" The fear in Tickety's voice was absolute.

"No, no, no, _chère_," Éclair soothed the femme, using the little nickname the elder gave her. She walked over to Tickety and seated herself next to the much smaller femme. After wrapping her arms around the younger one, Éclair cradled Tickety like a little infant.

"They wouldn't, not on _any_ of our watches." Éclair reached over with one of her servos and stroked Tickety's helm, trying to ease the younger's fears. The pastry colored femme rocked back in forth and began to hum.

Primus knew they were in for a long night.

* * *

_A few minutes before midnight . . ._

"She's walking like a zombie!" Buddy murmured to Clove as the whole group lumbered their whole way back home. They were the only ones talking; everyone else has a flashlight or headlight on to see in the dark. The path that leads up to the house didn't have any lamp posts.

Shimmer took up the front with her weapons out, in case any more 'Cons appeared. She was still on edge about the 'Con medic from earlier, who was now on the mainland to be interrogated by Prime. Behind her was Jenny, who carried a recharging Tickety on her back. Everyone else was behind her, with Lurker taking up the rear, on all fours.

Mearing and her nephew were in the middle of the line, standing side by side. Charlotte looked grim as Aaron dons an expression of wariness. His gaze was fixated at the back of Jenny's head.

How in the world did Jenny befriend a _Decepticon?_ Dark Blaze was understandable, for he was with them from the start. The teen hadn't met him yet, but as far as he knew, that helicopter was pretty gruff at times nowadays; especially since a recent 'incident' no one wanted to talk about.

Suddenly, Jenny staggered and nearly fell onto her face; she nearly dropped Tickety. Luckily, Éclair and Lurker manage to get to their guardian, supporting her. The younglings stand side-by-side to one another, with the former taking the still recharging femling into her arms.

"Hey, need a hand?" Aaron asked as he stepped out of the line and comes up behind the quartet. Lurker let out a low growl, but said nothing as Éclair nodded. She gingerly handed the slumbering little one to him.

Aaron for a moment tensed up. If he dropped her, he was going to get an earful from his aunt and his new employer, and most likely to get mugged from the younglings.

"There we go," Éclair whispered. To Aaron's surprise, he heard the femme murmuring something in French afterward. Soon enough, the dark plated femme turned back to helping Jenny get back onto her feet.

As he carried Tickety in his arms, he same way his late mother carried him home after gymnastics practice, he was shocked and alarmed by how light the femme was. No wonder everyone was worried about her.

Tickety-Tock was practically a walking toothpick.

'_Poor Buddy, no wonder he keeps a close eye on her,'_ Aaron thought to himself. At the thought of the rotund mechling, he twists around to see the said youngling stared at him with wide optics.

_'Don't you dare drop her!'_ those eyes yelled at the Aide. The human flashed a small smile at him, and with that Buddy shifted his gaze to the gavel beneath his pedes.

"We're here," announced Shimmer as she stopped her steps. The femme waved her blaster towards the door.

"Head in, all of ya; Prime's settin' me on curb duty."

The scout lowered her blaster as Jenny managed to shake off Lurk and Éclair. Soon, the Head Aide wobbled over to the door and keyed in a pass code on a pad that Aaron never realized was there before. The door unlocked itself easily and Aaron was among the first few to walk unsteadily into the threshold.

Jenny hung back, making sure no one is left behind. Satisfied that no one is, she looked up at the towering scout, who was scanning her surroundings.

"You going to be all right out here, all by yourself?" the teen asked Shimmer, concerned.

"Ah'll be fine," the silver scout reassured her. She smiled at Jenny as the Head Aide nods in acknowledgement. Soon, the young woman entered the house.

"G'night Jenny."

"You too, Shimmy." Once the teenager closed the door behind her, Shimmer turned back to the front of the house, ready for anything.

* * *

_Inside . . ._

The other younglings managed to mumble an odd chorus of "G'night" to one another before they tossed the number of flashlights to a small chair behind the door. Then, the lot of them hobbled off into the hidden rooms throughout the home.

"I'll take her," his aunt whispered to him.

"I know where this little one's room is." Charlotte took Tickety from Aaron's arms, which earned her a slightly annoyed grumble from the little femme. From there, the ex-liaison carried her cargo bridal style down the hall.

For a moment, Aaron is alone in the darkness. Within a few seconds however, the lights turned on to his left and was nearly blinded by the color of a wall.

The walls were a bright green.

He realized that from the entrance, there was a fork in the path, the right that led to the white-walled kitchen as the other directed him to the brightly painted room.

Taking his chances, Aaron cautiously meandered down the left lane and then is immediately in a either a sitting, guest or spare room. It was obvious that the younglings constantly visited the room, for there in several places of the room were large, Cybertronian hand prints upon the lime green wall. To Aaron's surprise, there were _many_ sets of servos upon the wall. Some were larger than others, but most were very tiny.

"You like?"

Aaron whipped himself around to see Jenny, looking downright drained. There were dark circles under his boss's eyes. Her eyelids, both the fleshy and mechanical ones, were half lidded. Jenny's short hair was in disarray and her jacket was buttoned up in all the wrong places.

Realizing that she was waiting for an answer, Aaron numbly nodded and said, "Wow, you look beat."

That wrangled a cynical laugh from the girl, which made Aaron uneasy.

"Until you handle those bureaucrats yourself with angry islanders behind them," Jenny sighs as she plopped herself down onto the couch, "you've seen nothing yet." Aaron was at a loss of what to do, until his boss motioned him to sit next to her.

First and foremost, Aaron wasn't used to be near humans of the opposite sex, other than his own family members. However, Aaron knew better, seeing how the female in front of him was strained to her limits, taking care of the little aliens.

_'Quit doubting yourself', _Aaron chastised himself and then landed himself next to the girl.

"Sorry to hear that," the new aide commented.

He then turned his attention to the walls and asked, "Why with all the black or blue servos on the wall?"

"Those are of all the younglings that were under my care," the sad response was.

The woman looked around the room with a fond smile upon her face. "I had over three dozen originally." Aaron once again rotated himself so that he could be looking at his boss. The young woman's expression was neutral, but her eyes told a completely different story.

"Aunt Charlotte told me some didn't make it," the aide verbalized in a gentle tone. He really hoped that he didn't step out of line . . .

"They fought their hardest," the Head Aide replied. "I-they could barely take it . . . and then . . ." the woman shook her head, unable to continue. Aaron knew that Jenny wouldn't be able to bring herself to mention the ones killed in cold blood.

The girl sighed as she rubbed her eyes. Eventually, she lowered her hand and looked at Aaron, serious.

"Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" Jenny questioned Aaron, startling him a bit. From her face, he could there what she said was no laughing matter.

"From what I have experienced with these little ones, this is one job that will test you to your limits, especially with the danger of 'Cons out there."

"From what the news reports say, I thought they were under a truce," Aaron frowned. Another sigh from his new boss.

"If only that were true," Jenny whispered. She seemed to want to say something else but didn't.

"It's late, you should get some sleep," she stated then.

"You too, you look beat," Aaron retorted as he motioned his hands towards her.

"Can't; I got some paperwork to settle down with that's related to the city hall fiasco." She somberly sighed as she let her head thunk against her thighs. Immediately she mocked a sob, making Aaron chuckle.

"Want me to help?" Aaron offered. Jenny's head snapped up at that; her audio fins fanned out with intrigue.

"Hey, I'll help ya if you like; Aunt Mearing says that I'm a good hand around paperwork." A minuscule smile of relief is seen in the young woman's face.

"Okay, lemme get my black pens and we'll set to work, and be ready for the jackals tomorrow."

Aaron's eyes widened at that. "Who are the jackals?"

_"Who_ else do you think Aaron?" Jenny snorted as she disappeared into a hall. She shuffled around a bit until a small _clink_ of pens being removed from a container is heard.

"The damn media and reporters that'll be knocking by dawn. So, we better be snappy on these behemoths."

"Aye-aye, ma'am!" Aaron responded with a mock salute.

To his utter dismay, Jenny returns with several stacks of papers. As she placed them upon the table, he estimated that the miniature hill is about a half a pencil's height.

_'Note to self: when Jenny is doing paperwork, expect her to be serious,' _Aaron thought to himself.

_'This'll take **until**__ dawn . . . dear God help us',_ he added as he internally groaned.


	6. Morning

**A/N: So sorry about the long wait for this one! I'm trying to dish out at least one more chapter for each of my current fics before I go onto Winter Break as well as my vacation . . . **

**Please enjoy the newest chapter and possibly the last one for this year.**

**(Warning: I may have missed a mistake or two, and if you catch them, please PM me and I'll try to fix them as soon as possible)**

* * *

Shimmer sat outside in the cold air. The femme's used to it, for she frequented the island often. It's funny to her; for several years ago the femme barely met the young woman's shoulder; she was a tall as a light post now.

She sat just a few meters away from the front entrance of the house. The light in the guestroom/Jenny's office/the little youngling's play room was still on.

Her guardian was up doing paperwork. This meant that the woman was going to do an all nighter, _again._

The silver femme sighs as she plunked her chin onto her knees. _'Jenny's __gonna run herself to the ground, doing this . . .'_ Shimmer thought to herself somberly. A flicker of a memory nudged her thoughts away to several years ago.

* * *

_A bit after Jenny was found . . ._

It was a rough time for the teen. Jenny avoided everyone when she returned. Prime and Ratchet ordered the others to leave her alone. Jenny still tried to cope with what she witnessed.

Shimmer wasn't allowed to know the details of what happened to her guardian. However, the little femme knew whatever Jenny had seen or experienced, it was traumatic. The silver Cybertronian would always watch from afar for her.

Jenny wouldn't look anyone in the eye and kept her head down. Whenever she bumped into anyone, she'd jump a mile high and apologize profusely.

The way she did it though, scared Shimmer.

Jenny would start to shake like a leaf in a tornado. Then, her eyes would become severely unfocused as if she was looking at something else. Another scene in time. She'd begged forgiveness for her clumsiness as if just a bump to a civilian would earn her the death penalty.

Ratchet had no choice but to isolate her for a little while, and apparently it calmed the girl down.

Shimmer remembered those nights that Jenny lived in isolation. At night she could hear from the pipes as Jenny screamed in terror, and Ratchet would have to calm her down.

_"They aren't here to harm you,"_ the medic repeatedly said to the terrified girl. Eventually, the whimpers calmed down and that meant Jenny was asleep.

It took three months for Jenny to attempt to get around where she was stationed to see Shimmer once again.

It was a bright and sunny day. Shimmer had gone to the nearby junkyard to get something for the little sparklings to play with.

The junkyard wasn't horribly dirty, and the owner of the place was a kind woman that let Shimmer get in to see if any bits of junk could be made into some different toys. If Shimmer found some sparkling-safe materials to be made later at base, she'd take a hose and wash it down in order to decontaminate it.

The last thing the femme needed was some sick sparklings on her watch.

As she inspected an old truck tire she found buried beneath some old boxes and crowbars, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Don't worry Mrs. Ross, I don't need your help," Shimmer said. She poked at a nail that was jammed into the tire.

"I don't think I can use this for the others any-"

"Shimmer."

The silver femme stopped her task, optics wide. Shimmer slowly turned around to see her.

Jenny.

The young woman had seen better days. Her hair was in disarray and seemed icky and oiling from a lack of showering. Her clothes were dirty, and there were several patches of black and brown near the bottom of her pants. Jenny was also barefoot; calloused.

"I'm so sorry," Jenny whispered. Shimmer didn't let her continue as she rushed to embrace her guardian.

The two hugged each other and ended up a sobbing mess on the floor. They missed each other.

* * *

Shimmer sighed as she shook her helm. She was glad that Jenny hadn't suffered too much nowadays, aside from nightmares. Lots of therapy helped, and even though Jenny wasn't completely herself, it was progress.

The femme looked out to the distant lights of the town near the water. Lights of yellow and blue rippled across the ocean, reflecting the moon's glow.

_CRICK._

Shimmer was up on her pedes quick as a whip and aimed it in the fog.

"Who goes there?" she said once in English and then in Cybertronian.

"Shimmer, it's _me,"_ a disgruntled voice stated. Out from the gloom appeared Éclair as she held several grocery bags.

From what the scout could see, the pastry-colored femme had an armful of plastic and paper bags. One bag held a carton of milk, yogurt cups and several microwave dinners. Another has a ton of office supplies. Those ranged from pens to ink pads and their refills. The rest of them were inscrutable, for they were in cotton bags.

"Where did Disney's _Aristocats_ take place?" Shimmer asked as she glared at the shorter fem.

"Easy, it's in France_, __mon cherie,_" Éclair smiled easily. The last two words were in a perfect French accent.

'_Yep, no one else would reply like that,'_ Shimmer thought to herself.

"Sorry, protocol kiddo," the scout said as she lowered her cannon.

"I understand."

"What are you doing, being out so late?"

"Jenny's running out of food and office supplies again, and she forgot to get them," Éclair murmured with an offhanded shrug. "So I snuck out as the others went in for recharge, and I successfully dodged you too."

Shimmer rolled her optics at the last bit. Éclair had quite a knack in avoiding to be detected by others. Even Optimus once lost track of the little femme when he had sparkling-sitting duty when Jenny had to leave the island for personal business.

"Also, I had to pick up _la plus jeune de livres_ order from Ms. Gale at the store," Éclair added.

"So, you went to pick up Tickety's book orders . . . and Gale's still up?"

Shimmer somewhat remembered the Japanese-American girl that helped run the small bookshop on the island. There were numerous others, but Gale's shop was the closest to the large abode where the Head Aide lived.

"Lately she and Jenny have been burning the midnight oil, as they say," Éclair stated as she trudged towards the door. She palmed a hidden scanner under the door bell and lets a small machine take an optic scan. The door swung open.

"Night kiddo," Shimmer said.

_"__Bonne nuit mon ami,"_ Éclair replied with a quick smile to the scout before closing the door.

* * *

_The morning after . . ._

Aaron was groggy as he slowly gets up from the awkward position he slept in. Jenny was stretched out next to him, her leg dangled off the side of the sofa.

He managed to pry himself out of her grip and watches in amusement as Jenny mumbled something incoherent before going silent again.

Aaron stretched his arms and blinked several times. He looked around, and his eyes locked onto a silhouette sitting in front of him. He jumped when he sees Tickety, her expression nonchalant.

"Were you trained by ninjas or something?!" Aaron whispered hoarsely.

"I'd like to have been, but no," Tickety responded with amusement. Even with the dim lights of the room, he could see her smile. "Wrong time period and we're not in Japan."

The femling got up shakily. Her knees buckled a bit, and moved her servo onto the back of the chair she was in.

"Uh, do you need help?" Aaron asked. He felt inconsiderate when she turned her head to him. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line.

"If I can't navigate in my own house, which I have been _living_ in for the past five and a half years, then I would," Tickety-Tock retorted.

"But, I think _you_ need assistance, since this is a huge house and you'll be staying here anyway." Aaron mentally kicked himself, but is astounded when she teetered over to him and took his left hand. The femling has a minute smile as she 'looked' up at him.

"I'll guide you around the house anyway, you're new after all," she murmured.

Aaron noticed at her 'vision' wasn't directed at him. The new aide looks where Tickety's gaze is aimed at, and realized that she was 'staring' at Jenny. The young man is confused until he realized that there was a band of sweat on Jenny's brow, and her fitful expression signaled that she was having a terrible reverie.

"It's that nightmare again, I can tell from the way she's breathing," Tickety murmured. Aaron listened and became conscious that Jenny's breathing pattern was erratic; frightened.

The blind femme released her hold on Aaron's hand and outstretched her servos in front of her. As Tickety felt her way about, the blonde watched in rapt fascination as Tickety knelt where Jenny rested her head, and slowly placed her tiny servo against the young woman's forehead.

If it weren't for the fact that her mouth was moving, Aaron wouldn't have believed Tickety was silently murmured something to Jenny. It took a full minute before Tickety moved from her position. The femling tugged a blanket away from a neighboring table and spread it atop of Jenny.

Then, the youngling crept away from her guardian. The woman seemed calmer in her sleep now; her breathing was steadier.

"As I was saying, you'll need to know where everyone is and where they're situated," Tickety stated to Aaron as if nothing happened.

"They like to play pranks on newcomers, and I don't partake in them."

"That's good to know," Aaron replied calmly. He then was towed away from the small room. From the direction they were taking, Aaron noticed they were headed to the kitchen.

He glanced up at a clock. It read seven-thirty A.M.

"You're an early riser," Aaron commented. Tickety-Tock chuckled in response.

"Jenny is usually up at six, biking," Tickety smiled. "Even with seven hours of sleep I'm fine."

They enter the kitchen and see someone else beat them to the fridge.

"Did Éclair go shopping again, brother?" Tickety asked the chubby figure ransacking the fridge. Buddy backs out from the door, embarrassed.

"Yeah, but she's still recharging," Buddy replied curtly. He reached into the fridge again and took out a carton of milk.

"You hungry, Aaron?"

"Yeah, does Jenny have cereal somewhere?" Aaron asked. Buddy pointed to the top of the fridge.

"Only Cheerios, that's the _only_ cereal she can ingest without spitting it up again." Luckily, there was a variety of them and Aaron takes the Honey-Nut one.

"Wait, Jenny can only eat certain foods?" Aaron asked, now curious to learn more of his boss.

"Due to her . . . accident, she can't eat a lot of things," Buddy said. He plodded this way and that around the kitchen, going to different cupboards to find energon.

"Chocolate especially, she described it as eating drops of vinegar mixed with oyster sauce."

Aaron grimaced. "That bad?"

"She got sick from eating a slice apple pie once," Tickety hacked. She covered her mouth.

"She was feverish for about a month." Tickety coughed again, but they sounded like a wheeze. Buddy made long strides to get Tickety a handkerchief as she coughed into it.

"Easy kiddo," Aaron heard the endearing tone from the tubby mechling. Buddy squatted next to Tickety, patting her back as she had to go through her coughing fit.

Aaron furtively watched the siblings as he got his cereal together. Buddy was the one doing most of the talking to Tickety as she got herself down from her high hacking fit.

Eventually, the femme's intakes were even, causing Aaron a silent sigh of relief.

* * *

"Are you sure you know where she's located?"

Two figures were in a very dark room. The only light illuminated in there was the pair's vibrant optics. One set were a lavender pair of optics. The other had one white optic as the other was a bloody red.

The other figure, the one with the lavender optics, blinked twice. The orbs slightly shifted up and down as the shadow nodded.

"Good," the other one smirked cruelly.

"The sooner she's returned to the fold, the better for us. She must be returned to the little 'project' we set up for her."

Both figures cackled, their dark laughter echoed up to the rafters several hundred feet above them. Above them dangled a limp figure, tied in heavy chains. Dried blood cascaded down from the body's neck and mouth. Flies amassed it; their buzzing so loud that it was as loud as a chainsaw.

One of them looked up at the lifeless corpse and grinned.

"How is the weather up there?!" the shadow screeched maniacally.


	7. Surprises

A few more hours passed before they had to do anything. During that time of a little quiet with Tickety and Buddy, the pair took Aaron on a tour of the house. They exited the kitchen in tandem and took the newcomer to the upper level.

"Step lightly," Tickety cautioned to the two behind her. "They're a bunch of light sleepers."

"Seriously?" Aaron inquired. From the way the little ones walked in from last night, they were all bushed. "After all that walking from last night?"

"Believe me," Buddy whispered in reply, "when you have Decepticons on your tail, or wanting your helm, you'd want to run at the drop of a hat." Aaron couldn't argue with that.

Tickety's servo gripped a door-frame to an open door on their left. Buddy quickly stepped in front of her and whispered, "You guys up yet?"

"Jus . . . about," Apex's voice mumbled tiredly. Aaron politely stayed outside the door, but peeked inside as Tickety hopped after her brother.

There was a bunk bed in there, and on the bottom bunk was Apex. He was sprawled on his front, optics half-open. On the top bunk, surprisingly, was Clove. The stout femme seemed more awake than her friend, and looked over to make eye-contact with Aaron.

"Morning," Clove mumbled, rubbing her optics. Aaron blinked in surprise, and quickly replied in a greeting.

The second largest youngling in the house got up and out of his bunk bed. "How's Jenny?" Apex asked immediately, more awake now. The new aide winced as the large mech's gaze was on him.

"Uh . . ." Aaron mumbled. The young man was a bit apprehensive by the unwavering stare Apex gave him.

"He isn't gonna hurt you," Tickety reassured the blonde. "I promise," she added, placing a servo over the center of her fragile chest. Aaron noticed that Apex glanced over to Tickety and nodded in agreement.

"We both worked on some paper work last night," the blonde explained. "She had a huge stack."

"You guys finish?" Apex inquired.

"Yeah, why?"

The young ones all looked at one another with a mix of nervousness and excitement.

"Well . . ." Buddy began. He clasped his servos behind his back. "Jenny promised us that when she did, she'd help us with a project we all planned doing together . . ."

"And what would that be?" Aaron asked. "What kind of project?"

"It's actually something for you," Clove blurted. The others sent her a glare and Clove ducked her helm sheepishly.

"There goes the surprise . . ." Apex muttered as he face-palmed. Aaron was surprised at the new information.

"W-wait, wait, wait," Aaron said. He moved his hands to and fro as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"What kind of project?"

"It's a new desk," Tickety explained. "We were going to paint it with your favorite color-"

"And according to Ms. Mearing, that color is blue-" Buddy interjected.

"But, the only paints we have are green, black and orange-"

"Whoa! Whoa," Aaron exclaimed, quieting them all.

"You guys don't have to do it."

"Yeah . . ." Clove mumbled. She twiddled her digits as she added, "But, we want to." Aaron let out a small chuckle.

_'They're trying to be nice,' _he reminded himself.

The sound of footsteps alerted the others that someone was at the door. There stood the head of the house-in an _apron_ of all things-and she was out of her clothes from the previous night.

Gone were the semi-professional apparel of a woman in a black blouse, skirt and jacket, replaced with a casual T-shirt and jeans.

"Jenny!" the little ones cheered and they jog to the door to hug her.

"Mornin' Boss," Aaron nodded at her.

"Morning to you all," Jenny kindly nodded at each of them. She smiled fondly at the little Cybertronians that crammed close to her for a hug. Aaron couldn't help but grin at the sight before him.

Promptly, the other younglings got out of recharge by their friends. One by one, everyone had gotten down to the lower floor and they all see why. Charlotte Mearing stood right outside, and with a familiar pair of blue and painted red flamed legs.

"Prime!" the young little Autobots exclaimed. They quickly and messily lined themselves up behind the humans as Mearing, Aaron and Jenny step forward.

"Uh . . . morning Prime?" Aaron laughed nervously. The huge Autobot leader knelt to get somewhat eye level with the humans.

"Good morning," Optimus replied. Aaron barely stopped himself from gaping at the Prime for having said such a mundane, every day greeting.

"Optimus would like to debrief you on something," Charlotte explained. She nodded at Jenny, and for the first time Aaron noticed that Jenny looked downright worried.

"Is this about Saber-Eye?" Jenny quietly inquired. The younglings all shifted nervously at that. Aaron glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the Survivor Eight-the name Aaron furtively dubbed them-glance at Éclair before they faced forward once again.

"Yes, and no," the Peterblit said. Jenny shuffled forward as he added, "Saber-Eye is cooperating with his interrogations and mentioned of . . . the time you were gone." The Head Aide stiffened at that and quickly shuttered her eyes. Her head-wings clattered against her head before they swung downwards, hanging limp. Jenny ducked her head as her shoulders drooped.

"Uh, Aaron?" Charlotte whispered. When the young man didn't get the hint, she jerked her head towards the young ones behind him. Aaron quickly got his bearings and urged the small Cybertronians inside with his aunt's help. After a while, the pair managed to occupy the Cybertronians with board games. Four of them each to Monopoly and Operation.

As soon as the young ones are engrossed in their respective games, Aaron pulled his aunt to the side.

He wanted to know why Prime and Jenny needed to have a private debriefing suddenly, and whether it had to do with Saber-Eye.


	8. Ambush Part I

**A/N:**

**To Corona Prime: Jenny does have helm wings, but only on one side of her head, as a result of the 'Cons messing with her body.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

* * *

Optimus drove Jenny to a secluded part of the island to talk. The area was covered in foliage and trees, tall enough to hide the Peterblit in robot form. As the Prime drove down the streets of the island, he begins to worry about Jenny. Usually the young woman would make small talk during these drives, but . . .

Prime moved his rear-view mirror to take a look at her. Jenny rested her head atop an upward facing palm, her elbow resting against the door. As she looked out the window, her helm-wings clicked and clacked anxiously against her head, worried.

"Jenny?" Optimus asked. That snapped the woman's attention back to him.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry Prime," Jenny apologized quietly. She lowered her arm and rested her hands neatly in her lap. She still looked out the window, deep in thought. "I'm just thinking . . ."

"Over thinking the past isn't healthy," Optimus quietly murmured.

"I know," Jenny sighed. She rubbed her eyes. "I just can't help but wonder about the others . . . you know?" Optimus sighed with her. He knew the full details of what Jenny had experienced. Quite frankly, he was surprised that Jenny's mental stability was still all right.

"So, who's joining us?" the woman asked, leaning back in the seat.

"The usual number, along with Saber." That made the guardian straighten in her seat.

"So, what do you think of him?" the young woman asked, interested. She couldn't help let out a small chuckle at the thought of the medic that saved her life numerous times during her time as a captive . . .

"He's spontaneous . . ." Optimus started. If he was in bipedal mode, a small smile would've escaped him.

"While he was waiting for me to interrogate him, he noticed that Shimmer was getting bored, being on guard duty."

"Don't tell me-"

"He burst into song." The neutral air the Prime exuded made Jenny laugh.

"Was it Glee's version of _Singing in the Rain?__" _the young woman snickered. She doubled over as she tried and failed to calm herself down.

"How he would know of such a song outside of where you were being held? Was it by you?" A faint smile graced the teen's face. Optimus didn't press any further into the matter as the tree line ahead of them began to thicken.

As Optimus pulled to a stop to let Jenny out, a raven cawed just above their heads. The Head Aide looked up in disdain at the black bird.

"Shut up," she grumbled. The teen trudged ahead of the Peterblit. Soon the sound of the Prime's pedes followed the human into the forest.

* * *

_At the house . . ._

"I told you, I'm not at liberty to say."

"Aunt Charlotte-"

"Don't give me that look young man-"

"But-"

"You'll have to ask her yourself."

Exasperatedly, Aaron threw is arms up in the air. The two relatives bickered about the sudden appearance of Optimus's appearance on the island.

"Shh!" a small voice hissed. The two humans turned to see Buddy, who looked saddened and scared.

"Please, can you guys take it outside?" Buddy asked. His voiced cracked as he added, "I don't want Tickety to hear . . ."

Mearing sighed as she noticed how genuinely afraid the little one was. Her gaze softened as she said, "Sorry Bud, we didn't know we were that loud in our discussion . . . go back to your friends, all right?"

"Okay," he replied meekly. The little one quickly left the kitchen with a servo over his chest. Aaron heard Buddy mumbling to himself, "It's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine . . ."

"She never told anyone?" Aaron whispered, once he was sure Buddy was out of range.

"Only Optimus and Ratchet," Mearing confirmed. "Not even Shimmer knows."

"The BMW i8?" the young man replied. Quite frankly, he wanted that kind of car to be his own someday. Though from his experience with Autobots, however short a time by comparison to the few that knew them longer, Aaron learned that the Autobots, sans Optimus, were picky about who their passengers were.

Mearing exhaled as she rubbed her temples. _"Yes,_ her alt. mode is the BMW i8." Sometimes she wondered if her nephew could get all the Autobot's names straight, aside from their alt. modes . . .

Suddenly, Mearing's phone began to ring. The woman grabbed it and answered.

"Hello?" she asked, surprised.

"-Get the kids outta here, _now._-" Jenny sounded _terrified._

"Wait-Jenny, why are you-"

"DECEPTICON AMBUSH! GET THEM OUT!" Jenny yelled. There was utter silence in the whole house as the line burst into static.

"We gotta move!" Aaron shouted. The whole house went into a flurry as Aaron found the emergency bags in the closet and ushered the kids outside. As soon as he stepped foot outside, gun fire and acid pellet rounds rained the ground in front of him.


End file.
